


The Guardian's Story

by Mad_Birdy



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-01
Updated: 2018-04-30
Packaged: 2019-04-30 12:07:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14496636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mad_Birdy/pseuds/Mad_Birdy
Summary: A series of vignettes of a sort, exploring the character of Gadreel and his motivations and intentions. Unfinished.





	1. The Garden

“Gadreel.”

The voice was deep, quiet, reassuring. He’d know that voice anywhere. Stepping forward from where he stood with his brothers and sisters, the angel named Gadreel kneeled before God, his father and creator. “Yes, Father?” he asked.

“Stand, Gadreel.” As he stood, God continued. “I have chosen you to be the guardian of Eden.” There were exclamations of joy from all the angels around him, echoing in his ears, but still God’s voice came through perfectly. “From this day forth, the name Gadreel shall mean ‘Wall of God’, since you will protect the Garden and its inhabitants from all that is evil. Do you understand, my son?”

“Yes, Father.” Gadreel bowed his head, placing a hand over his heart. “I will protect the Garden with my life. Thank you for the honor.”

“It is well deserved, Gadreel. Now go, and be the first of my children to walk upon the Earth.” The angel nodded, and as he flew to Earth, he could hear the announcement that his brothers and sisters could follow after he arrived and took his place as guardian.

All thoughts of heaven and angels left his mind as soon as he saw the Earth. He floated momentarily in the atmosphere, eyes wide with wonder at the beauty of the small blue and green planet. The thought crossed his mind that it was far more beautiful than heaven, but it was gone as quickly as it was thought. Then his feet were touching the surface of the Earth and it was like nothing he’d ever experienced.

For days he walked alone in Eden, getting acquainted with how the world worked. He strode through the garden, careful not to crush trees with his feet, his true form five-fold taller than the tallest redwood. He’d spend hours flat on his stomach, communicating with the animals that God created. The realization came to him one day that it would be far easier to walk among them if he had a smaller form, and so he re-formed himself into eight much smaller beings, though each still towered over the treetops. He set up a watchful pattern, four of his forms stationed at the cardinal points on the edges of the Garden, and the other four roaming freely, watching for evil.

That was when the other angels started visiting. They wished to see God’s creation for themselves, and while many were enraptured with the beauty of Eden, they never stayed long, preferring to return to heaven. Michael and Raphael were among the visitors who departed quickly, having come only to congratulate their younger brother on the honor bestowed upon him. “Be wary that you do not fail, brother,” had been Michael’s parting words, leaving a worried flutter deep within Gadreel’s grace. But Gabriel and Lucifer had been far more supportive and hopeful.

“You are very blessed,” the youngest archangel had said. “I would have liked to have been made guardian of Eden.”

“Thank you, Gabriel,” Gadreel had answered. “But you have your duties as guardian of heaven. Surely those are just as important, if not more?”

Lucifer had laughed. “You underestimate our Father’s love for the Earth and the humans that will come to live here.”

The young angel had only nodded and thanked his brothers for visiting. Now, as he stood at the edge of the ocean, where sand made one side of the boundary of Eden, he could hardly contain his excitement, though to any outside watcher it would appear as though he was made of stone. There was a tingle in his grace, and he looked next to him to see one of his younger brothers shaping his grace into a form resembling his own. “Greetings, Castiel,” Gadreel said, the sound like a rumble of thunder in the Garden.

“Gadreel,” the younger angel said. “I have come to watch the birth of humanity.”

The Wall of God nodded. “I believed I was to be the only one. There has been no other interest.”

“I would not miss this for anything.”

Together, the two angels watched as a fish flopped out of the water and laying there, gills flaring. “Take care you do not step on that fish, brother,” Gadreel said. “Our father has important plans for that fish.”

\-----

Gadreel watched in wonder as Adam and Eve walked through the Garden. This was humanity, and it was beautiful. He smiled as they walked among the trees, picking and eating the fruit, laughing with the sheer joy of being alive. Soon, they noticed the tall being that guarded them and approached him, Eve saying, “Who are you?”

Taken aback, he answered, “Gadreel,” but of course they could not understand him, for he was still manifesting in a form that was far too powerful for them to perceive, so he once again shaped himself into a form similar to theirs and stood before them. “My name is Gadreel,” he said again, this time in their own human tongue.

“Gadreel,” Adam repeated. “What does it mean?”

“I am the Wall of God. I am here to protect the two of you and the Garden from evil.”

“God sent you?” the woman asked.

“Yes. Long before the two of you were created, I was stationed here to guard this place.”

“Is it your home as well?”

The angel tilted his head. “My home is heaven. Earth is for humanity.”

“You look human to me,” the man said.

“I am an angel, Adam. I am no human.”

“But you look like us.”

“It is merely a shaping of my true form, since your senses are not refined enough to see my full form.”

God had entered the Garden at that moment, and Gadreel had left, back to watching the border. Lucifer, unnoted and no longer innocent, watched his brother’s forms pace the perimeter. He decided to bide his time, and snuck off to plan.

Adam and Eve managed to coax Gadreel into walking in the Garden with them even more frequently than God did. They introduced him to apples and oranges, pears and cherries. Though he could taste every single molecule that made up the fruit, he grew to appreciate how the combination of molecules and compounds gave each one its distinct taste. He grew to love these two humans, the two from whom the rest of humanity would spring. The more he walked with them, the more he loved them, and the more he slowly forgot about heaven and the other angels and even God.

And Lucifer stood just outside the perimeter, cloaked in invisibility, watching and waiting, the Mark burning hotly on his chest as it fed poison into his mind.


	2. The Fall

“Lucifer.” The guardian of Eden greeted his elder brother. “A pleasant surprise.”

“Gadreel,” the archangel said, standing at the perimeter of the Garden. “I have come to ask if I might walk among the humans.”

“I’m afraid that is only allowed by permission of our Father.”

Lucifer nodded. “I know. I am here on orders from Him. He has a new gift for humanity that He wishes me to deliver to them.”

“A new gift?” Gadreel tilted his head, interest piqued. “What is it?” There was a glint in his brother’s eyes, and for a moment uncertainty and something else stirred within the guardian’s grace, but he pushed it aside.

“It’s something called free will,” the older angel answered. “It will give the humans freedom, and will help them grow to become even more beautiful than they already are.”

“Free will.” The words were strange, unknown to him, but they resonated with his mind, and something small started stirring there. “You say it will help them?”

“Of course. It is a gift from our Father, after all.” The archangel watched as his brother contemplated the idea of free will, holding back a smirk as he sensed a change deep within the angel’s grace.

“You may enter, Lucifer,” Gadreel said, stepping aside and holding his arm out. “Adam and Eve like to walk among the pears trees at this time of the day.”

Lucifer smiled and stepped forward. “Thank you, brother,” he said, touching his brother’s grace with his own before heading for the humans. As he approached them, he chuckled silently to himself. That had been easier than expected.

The Wall of God stood still, rooted to the ground, reeling from what Lucifer’s grace had done to him. That one touch had sent a tendril of corruption deep within him, and that’s when Gadreel realized he’d been tricked. He retreated within himself, examining the corruption even as he was unable to stop it from taking root in his soul. The Mark. That’s what this was. The Mark had corrupted his brother and Lucifer had used some of its power to keep the guardian of Eden restrained. It was in that moment that he recognized the other emotion swirling around within his grace: fear. He suddenly understood what free will truly meant, and what it would mean for the world if humanity were to have it. He saw the future spread out before him, the course that had been set in motion, and he became consumed with fear.

Knowing he had to stop Lucifer if he could, Gadreel fought against the power of the Mark that held him in place with fear.  _ You must be brave _ , he told himself.  _ You must save humanity _ . And with that he broke free and flew to the humans. He was pulled up short, however, by the sight of himself standing beside Eve, offering her a pear that glowed with a strange blue light. “Lucifer,” he muttered. His brother appeared beside him, having apparently split his own grace into two forms.

“Gadreel. You broke free?” Surprise laced the archangel’s tone. “You are stronger than I thought.” A shrug rippled through his grace as he said, “No matter. The act is done.” Eve bit into the pear, as not-Gadreel smiled encouragingly. The next moment, she was bent over, clutching her head.

“What have you done?” Anger flowed through the guardian of the Garden, and he turned on his brother. “What have you done!”

“No, brother,” Lucifer said, chuckling darkly. “What have  _ you _ done?” As they watched, Eve straightened, smiling at not-Gadreel as she turned to Adam, who had just walked up, and offered it to him. He took the pear and bit into it himself, reacting to it in the same way. “Look at them. You’ve set them free.” Those words echoed within Gadreel’s grace as he watched humanity, those two that he loved most, grow ashamed of their purity and begin to fashion coverings for themselves out of leaves from the surrounding pear trees.

“No, no, this is wrong!” He looked in anguish at the archangel. “Why would you do something like this?”

“Look at them Gadreel. Really look.” Venom and anger laced Lucifer’s voice. “You know our Father has ordered that we bow down to  _ them _ , as though they are somehow better than us, than Him.” He laughed cruelly as he watched Adam and Eve wander around the Garden, viewing everything with newly-opened eyes. “They are puny, and weak, and corruptible. They are nothing but playthings for us.”

“They are beautiful! They are our Father’s greatest creations!”

“Not any more.” Lucifer looked up and smiled. “Just in time.” Gadreel turned his eyes heavenward, noticing his brothers Michael, Raphael, and Gabriel descending to Earth. “Time for me to take my leave.” Not-Gadreel looked up, theatrically, and disappeared, once more becoming a part of Lucifer’s grace as the archangel towered over the Wall of God. “Remember, Gadreel. All this,” the sweep of his arm seemed to indicate the entire world and its future. “Is because of you. This is your fault.” And then he was gone, leaving Gadreel to his fate.

\-----

Gadreel kneeled before his Father, head bowed in sorrow, fear, and supplication. He could feel the anger and sadness radiating from the Almighty as He sat on His throne and stared at the angel. “You were my most trusted, Gadreel,” He said, His voice no less intimidating for its hushed tone.

“I know what I have done is unforgivable, Father,” the guardian of the Garden answered. “But please, I beg you to have mercy. My brother Lucifer told me that he was bearing a gift for humanity from you.”

“Michael tells me it was  _ you _ he saw giving the pear to Eve, not Lucifer.”

“He took my form to talk to them.”

“Why would he do such a thing?”

“Because I was close to them.” A beat of silence reigned before Gadreel added, “I have walked with them on numerous occasions. They know my form well. But it was not I who gave Eve the fruit. It was Lucifer, I swear it.”

“You lie. Lucifer would never betray me in such a way. My favorite son would never disobey me.”

Anger rose in Gadreel then, and it showed in the vehemence with which he asked, “Where is he, then?” The angel looked up then, daring to gaze directly at God. “Where is your precious Lucifer? Should he not be here to give witness of his innocence before you? Is not his absence proof enough of his treachery?”

“Silence!” The force of the word made him bow his head again, and he listened as his Father condemned him. “Take him to the dungeon. He shall never walk upon the Earth again.”

“So demands the Lord,” the angels echoed, and then two of his brothers escorted Gadreel to the dungeons of heaven. The door to his cell clanged behind him loudly in the otherwise empty dungeon, and he sat on the hard stone bench against the wall, thinking of Eden and Lucifer.

Castiel had watched all this with wide eyes, unable to believe that his brother could commit such an act of treason. Michael observed his younger brother, and made a mental note to have him sent to Naomi soon.


End file.
